New Cubs manager Craig Counsell's lucrative foray into free agency might be looked back as the "first landmark in a managerial financial revolution," according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Olney noted already there are predictions in the industry that some managers "won't be so quick to sign the team-friendly deals that have been commonplace over the past two decades," and instead "will be more inclined to let their contracts expire and consider all offers, to build upon the effort they feel Counsell made for himself, and also for them." A manager argued that the problem with the "Moneyball" theory in this era, is the job is "more like chief executive officer -- for a period of almost eight months, he is the public face of a multibillion-dollar company who is asked to speak to the media twice a day, as well as overseeing the culture within the building and affecting day-to-day and inning-to-inning decisions." Olney wrote Counsell's deal "could be a turning point, not only in how he raised the bar for what an accomplished manager is being paid, but also in how his negotiation played out." As a player, Counsell was part of the union leadership, serving first as a team representative in 2002 and then on the executive subcommittee from 2004-11. Counsell had told colleagues that he "wanted to test the market, to wait for the expiration of his contract in order to receive bids." Olney wrote there is now a "market rate for experience," with the Cubs "outbidding the Brewers significantly" (ESPN.com, 11/8).
PLAYING THE MONEY GAME: In Chicago, Paul Sullivan wrote there was "absolutely nothing wrong" with Cubs President Jed Hoyer electing to hire Counsell. Sullivan: "I’m not sure what planet any of these anonymous baseball people are living on. ... Either they weren’t paying attention to the Cubs downfall or they’re jealous that someone set a new market for managerial pay." Few managers "play out their contracts and elect for free agency, preferring the security of an extension." Counsell however "decided to bet on himself, knowing if the Brewers missed the postseason for a second consecutive year it could backfire." He "won." Sullivan: "If someone offered you a prestigious job for more money, would you reject it out of hand because you’d be taking someone’s position?" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 11/8).
